Gas-shell and the like



C. STEENSTRUP.

GAS SHELL AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED W515. 19w.

1 ,306,64:]. lamlred June 10, 1919.

FM In a M W 1?; W w H q 1. g T 5 Inventor: Christian SteensLrup,

His o tiorneg.

; UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN STEENSTBUP, OFSCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR '10 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

GAS-SHELL AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Ji ne 10, 1919.

Application filed June 15, 1918. Serial No.24 0,181.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, ()iiius'riAN STERN- S'lRUl, a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Shells and the like, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to gas shells and particularly to an improved means for closing the mouth of a gas shell, 0., the seam between the plug nd the filling opening.

At the present time theseshells are provided with a mouth which is screw-threaded interiorly to receive a screw-threaded plug or closure, the latter also containin r an explosive and a detonator. As is wel understood it is a ditiicult matter to make screwthreaded joints which are absolutely tight against relatively high gas pressures and especially when these parts are turned out in large quantities with the usual machinery employed for the purpose. Owing to the poisonous nature of the gas or chemical with which the shells are filled it is not safe to depend upon any sort of sealing materials Such as commonly used in making screwthreaded joints tight. Practice has deinonstrated that the only safe thing is to make metal to metal contact and to subject the parts to a most rigid system of inspection. Even when the utmost care is exercised in the manufacture the joints fail from time to time resulting in the loss of life or in serious injuries, not only in'the manufacture but afterward.

.For a consideration of what I believe to be new and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and claims appended thereto.

In the drawing is illustrated an em'bodiment of my invention in which Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a gas shell; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of a shell or other gas container; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view on an enlarged scale showing the effect on the parts of the oint when the closing plug is sub ected to end pressure; Fig. 4 1s a detall view of a locking device for special cases; and Fig. 5 shows a container with a chemical resisting lining.

5 indicates a hollow steel shell containing gas or a chemical for making gas when released to atmosphere. It may be of any mouth.

the end 8 inward, a taper of twenty-five onethousandths per inch being suilicient for the purpose. 9 indicates a 'metal closing plug which may if desired also carry an extension 10 in which is located a suitable charge of explosive and a detonator, as is the usual practice.

The plug, instead of having the usual screw thread is provided with a series of continuous parallel projections having thin, sharpened edges 11. By a continuous parallel projection I mean that such projection is annular extending entirely around the ring. The number of projections will naturally do )end upon the pressure of the gas or chemical which is to be confined in the shell. Also the size of the projections will depend upon the section of the metal in the mouth of the shell. As a general proposition the plug. The inner face 13 of each projection is formed as a rather steep bevel, the purpose being to provide projections having thin edges the metal of which will flow and bend outwardly from the container when subjected to heavy end pressure. The plug before the, projections and grooves are .formed has a slight taper corresponding to that of the wall of the mouth 7; it is however slightly greater in diameter so as to make a forced fi. A plug one andone-half inches in diameter should be approximately thirty one-thousandths larger than the By test I have ascertained that plugs varying from fifteen to forty onethousandths can be used and tight joints obtained in all cases. From this it will be seen that extreme accuracy is not required,

lbs

'a feature of very great importance especially in quantity p'rmluction where the available labor is not usually highly skilled.

After the shell has received its charge of gas or chemical. usually introduced in-a very cold state. the plug is forced into the mouth under heavy end pressure. This operation is obviously simpler than screwing a plug to its seal where it and the container have a relatively large number of threads and thus a saving of time in assembling results. When the plug is forced into place the metal of the thin. sharpened edges of the projections llows and bends slightly outward from the chamber in the container and the metal assumes the approximate shape shown in dotted lilies at 14 in Fig. 3 wlnch, however, has been exaggerated for the purpose of illustration. From the. construction it will be seen that there. are as many sealing joints as there are projections, each joint so to speak backing up the others. As will be seen the surfaces 12 which were perpendicular to the axis of the plug are now inclined upwardly thereto so that any pressure tending to force the plug outwardly causes a tendency of the sharp corners of the projections to dig into the surrounding wall.

The. purpose of tapering the plug slightly as referred to above 1s that it aids in starting the plug in straight so it will have no tendency to go crooked and also prevents the first rows of sharpened edges from wearing off when first inserting the plug. If the plug were straightthe first rows of sharpened edges would wear off more than the others due to the forcing operation with the result that the joint at theinner end of the plug would not be so tight as that at the outer end. I

The requirement is that the joint between the plug and mouth shall be capable of withstanding :Npressure of about 200 pounds.

pressure. th a shell of the character illustrated, having a plug one and one-half inches in diameter, I found by numerous tests that it took a pressure of approximately 9,900pounds to force them into final position and that it took a pressure of from 3,500 to 4,200 pounds per square inch to force them out. It will thusbe seen that the factor of safety is very large and greatly in excess of ordinary requirements.

Certain kinds of gas attack the steel of whichthe shell is composed and in such cases it is necessary to provide a lead or other lining for the shell which will resist the action of the gas or other chemical employed. j f In Fig. 5 is showna protective inner lining for the parts. 15 indicates a lead or other lining which-can be applied to the inside of the shell in any suitable manner. It may be in the form of a separate piece or tmay be in the form of a coating. The

mouth is provided with an internal shoulder .16 over which the lining or protective. coatmg extends, the purpose hemg to form a seal lo protect thejwall. of the mouth and the parts ot'the plug forming the joint from the effects of the gas or chemical. .'lhe surface of the projection on the plug containing the detonator and explosive charge. and the under side of the shoulder are also provided with a coating 17 of lead orother material which resists the action of the gas or other chemical contained in the shell. If: the coating is thin it may be desirable in some cases to place. a. metal washer 18 between the shoulder on the plug and that. on the. month which resists the action of the gas and which will flow when subjected to the heavy pressure required to seat the plug, the construction otherwise remaining the same.

For some purposes when the pressure of the a within| the container is high it may be tOSlI'tLblO to provide additional locking 01' securing means. For example, the construction shown in Fig. 4 may be employed. on the upper end of the shell is a tapered annular projection 19 and on the under side of the plug is a recess 20, the outer wall of which is so beveled that when the two parts are forced together by heavy end pressure the metal of the projection will flow and bend inwardly thus forming. an annular locking ring. As this takes place when the lug is inserted a second operation is there- By avoided and a complete sealing and lockin of the parts obtained.

My improved construction has many advantages of which the following may be specifically mentioned: First a separate seal is provided at the edge of each projection and. if one fails for any reason the joint as a whole is not destroyed; second, the provision of parallel projections instead of a screw thread eliminates the necessity of accurate machine work both on the shell and the plug'for aconsiderable variation in the diameters of the cooperating parts is permissible, and third, owing to the fact that the mouth has a smooth wall its size can be quickly and easily determined with great accuracy by a simple gage as may also the accuracy of the plug. Due to their simple construction no difliculty will be experienced in machining the. parts, and the large number of sealing jointseach one backing up the other insures the retention of the gas or chemical within the shell.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is-

1. A metal gas shell having a smooth walled mouth in combination with a metal plug for closing said mouth which is adapted to be forced into said mouth by heavy endwise pressure, said plug having a plurality of continuous-parallel projections, the edges of which are in firm frictional engagement with said wall.

7 2. A metal gas shell having a smooth Walled mouth and in combination with a metal plug for closing said mouth which is adapted to be forced into said mouth by heavy end-wise pressure, said plug having.

a plurality of continuous parallel projections which taper from the body of the plug toward its eriphery to form thin edges, said edges eing in firm' frictional engagement with said wall.

3. A metal gas shell having a smooth walled mouth taperin slightly toward the inside thereof, in com ination with a metal plu having approximately the same taperas t e mouth but of slightly larger diameter and adapted to be forced into the mouth by heavy endwise pressure, said plug havin a plurality of continuous parallel thin e 'ge projections extending perpendicularly thereof, the outer sides of the projections being flat and the inner sides beveled so that as the plug is forced into place said thin edges will yield outwardly.

4. In combination, a metal gas shell comprising a hollow body whichhas a smooth walled mouth with an internal shoulder, a lining for the body which is resistant to the action of the material with which thecontainer is charged, said lining enveloping the shoulder, and a plug adapted to by forced into the mouth by heavy endwise pressure to close it and which has a shoulder, the under side thereof and the parts of the plug within the body having a covering which is also resistant to the action of the material therein, said plug having a plurality of'continuous parallel thin edged projections which engage the wall of the mouth with heavy friction and hold the plug in place and also exert sealing pressure on the coverings of the two shoulders.

. 5. A metal gas shell having a smooth walled mouth with a tapered locking projection at its outer end, in combination with a metal plug for closing the mouth which is adapted to be forced into the mouth by heavy endwise pressure, said plug havin a plurality of continuous parallel projections, the edges of which are in firm frictional engagement with the wall, and also an annularrecess with a beveled wall, said wall enaging the locking projection and forcing it inwardly when the plug is seated.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of June, 1918.

CHRISTIAN STEENSTRUP. 

